There is a low buzz centered around room 112 of Dawson Hall.

Girls in long dresses, short dresses, wide-leg pants, skinny jeans and high heels teeter and stomp their way around, waiting for the stylists to decide what looks best. They move from room 112, the evening’s designated dressing room, to the hallway where pictures are snapped.

Inside the makeshift dressing room, the excitement and stress palpably mingle in the air. Holding a floppy black sun hat and a structured cream headpiece, the girls of the Student Merchandising Association struggle to decide which looks best. The vintage glamour of the structured hat wins, and as the model exits, a yell is heard.

“Tell your stylist to get you gold shoes!”

It’s Wednesday night, and the group is preparing for its annual charity fashion show. This year’s theme is “Lights, Camera, Fashion,” and the members have selected five movies on which to base looks.

“We picked a movie throughout the decades that has been very influential in the fashion industry and in the masses as a whole,” said Nicole Dushman, the show’s co-director and junior fashion merchandising major from Eatonton.

The group settled on “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “Annie Hall,” “Pretty Woman,” “Dirty Dancing” and “The Devil Wears Prada.” The stylists used clothing from local and corporate stores to create outfits that they believe represent the spirit of each film’s fashion sense.

“I wanted to keep it true to what the movie was, but … make it a little bit edgier or more contemporary,” said Katie Deray, a sophomore fashion merchandising major from Savannah and co-director of the clothing committee.

The members of SMA began planning the event in January, beginning with the election of committee heads. After that, the organization took into account all that goes into a fashion show: clothing, models, catering, invitations and programs, technology, public relations and more.

“It’s just like a chance for fashion students to get experience working with fashion shows,” said Sara Idacavage, the show’s public relations director and a junior fashion merchandising major from Marietta. “It’s a good way to use our experience with our major and also give back to the community and have a big party.”

The show will feature 18 models who each show five looks, one for each movie, according to Dushman and Kate Aquillano, the show’s co-director and junior fashion merchandising major from Marietta.

The models were chosen after a model casting, and most are students. Aquillano said they tried to get all sizes of models to showcase the fashions.

Eric Williams, 23, is a fashion merchandising and Russian major and a model in the show. He recently returned to the University after serving in the Army in Iraq. When he heard about SMA’s call for models, he decided to give it a shot.

“Modeling is something I really want to do while I’m still young,” he said.

Aquillano, Dushman and Idacavage also said they have run into some stereotypes about their major. They feel this show is one way of showing what it actually is to be a fashion merchandising student.

“[The show is about] showing people that there can be fashion in Athens. And this is what we do, and our major is not a joke,” Idacavage said.